Far from the crowd

While the Sethusamudram controversy continued to rage, Minister for Shipping T R Baalu managed to stay away from Delhi 8212; and the media 8212; this past week. He extended his weekend stay at Chennai to mark his presence at the DMK bandh there and then flew out for a break in the Andaman 038; Nicobar Islands. He returned to the capital only on Friday. The island trip was to hold the annual meeting of the Ministry8217;s Hindi Salahkar Committee. That, you could say, was almost in sync with his supremo, M Karunanidhi, reciting a Hindi poem in a public address.